Two things are quintessential to the book of Revelation. The heart of Jesus and the heart of unconverted natural man. These are contrary to each other, yet need not be difficult to understand or identify. Jesus referred to himself as both the Son of God and the Son of Man because he had come in flesh to redeem us from the curse. Later, John stated that every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, of which ye have heard that it should come, and that now it is already in the world (1 John 4:3). In Revelation, Jesus, through John, takes this into much greater detail so that we can grasp the principle of what antichrist means, and how it could already be in the world in John's day. Of course, any discussion of the antichrist also necessitates discussion of the beast and the mark of the beast. This is because the antichrist and the beast are inseparable. In God's eyes, unconverted natural man is a beast, and the mark of the beast is the nature of the beast, which is also the nature of antichrist. If we can understand this fundamental precept, our ability to understand the Book of Revelation becomes greatly expanded. The only other requirement is that we have a clean heart before God. Sadly, many commentaries on Revelation ignore the need to have a clean heart in order to survive what's coming. In Quintessential Revelation: Understanding the Heart of Jesus in the Imminent Day of the Lord, author Russell M. Stendal shows us how the unconverted natural man, a.k.a., the flesh, that man of sin, the beast, or antichrist, as well as the devil, all share the same essence and fate. On the other hand, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, along with those who are written into the Book of Life, also share in eternal essence and an eternal fate. Digging deep into the signs, the wonders, and the prophets, the author helps us discover the genuine Christian's role in the soon-to-be-fulfilled book of Revelation.
